The birth of Poland as an independent nation coincides with the ascension of Mieszko I, in the year 960.

The major achievement of Mieszko was the adoption of the Christian faith under the authority of Rome - a fact which shaped Poland's history for the following centuries, and to this day.
Mieszko I died in A.D. 992. He was succeeded by his son, Boleslaw the Brave, who extended the boundaries of Poland and at the head of his army reached Kiev on the River Dnieper, later the capital of the Ukraine. He in turn was succeeded by his son Mieszko II, who reigned from 1025 to 1034. All these kings were members of the Dynasty of Piast, which continued its rule for several centuries.
The territory of the Poland of that time was quite similar to the present one, except that it did not include much of Silesia.

After several kings of the House of Piast, it produced its greatest monarch - Casimir the Great (1333-1378), who achieved during his long reign many changes and improvements throughout the country. Many splendid buildings - churches and castles - built under Casimir are still there. He allowed the Jews, expelled from other European countries, to settle in Poland and enjoy full freedom, including in religion and business.

Not all kings of Poland were Polish. There is nothing exceptional in that - after all, the present royal house of Britain is of German origin. King Louis (1370-1382) was a member of the French House of Anjou, founded by Saint Louis, but he was also king of Hungary, Poland, Dalmatia, Croatia, Rama, Serbia, Galicia, Lodomeria, Romania and Bulgaria. The vast empire of the Anjou dynasty did not promise to last long, as Louis had as yet no issue. Later he had two daughters: the princesses Elisabeth and Jadwiga, who became Queen of Poland in 1384.

Lithuania was at the time a major power. It extended over the territories now known as Bielorussia and Ukraine. It was in conflict with Poland and several battles were fought. The Polish senators, however, planned a masterpiece of statesmanship: a marriage of Grand Duke Jagiello with Queen Jadwiga. It would be a great sacrifice on her part, as the grand duke was three times her age and she was a beauty.

Jagiello was baptized in the Catholic faith and took the name of Wladyslaw. The Lithuanians were at the time pagans, worshipping snakes. Jagiello's brother Witold was also baptized. The union of Poland and Lithuania was not an annexation. Lithuania retained its identity and kept it for centuries, but the King of Poland was also Grand Duke of Lithuania.

The union of the two nations resulted in the largest power in Europe and remained in force for the following centuries. Some of the greatest men of Poland - such as the poet Mickiewicz in the 19th century and the national leader Pilsudski in the 20th - were of Lithuanian origin, but they did not know the Lithuanian language which, unlike Polish, is not a Slavonic language. The population of Lithuania was largely Ruthenian.

Jagiello proved to be a great statesman and became the founder of the Jagiellonian dynasty, which ruled the union for centuries.

Both Lithuania and Poland had been attacked by the Order of Teutonic Knights, a military order based in East Prussia. The German order was a major power which endeavored to extend its area eastward and south, and the Teutonic Knights were armed better than most European nations. Yet when the Teutonic Knights attacked in 1410, the united Polish and Lithuanian forces under the command of Jagiello defeated them in the great battle of Grunwald. Thus the Prussian efforts to conquer the entire Baltic coast and the northern provinces of the Polish-Lithuanian union were finished forever.
The last Jagiellonian king was Zygmunt-August (1548-1572). He was followed by Henri de Valois, a Frenchman. The next kings were Stefan Batory, a Hungarian, and Zygmunt Vasa, a Swede. The throne of the Polish-Lithuanian union was elective - a democratic feature unknown in other European countries. Foreign princes were elected largely because a Polish king might be considered as a favor for Poland and a Lithuanian one a favor for his country, while a foreigner was neutral.
Nevertheless, one of the best kings was Jan Sobieski (1674-1696), who saved Europe from a Turkish invasion. The Ottoman empire was then a major power. Its huge army besieged Vienna, which had it been seized it would have meant the victorious Turkish army would continue its invasion and thus place western Europe in mortal danger. Jan Sobieski, a great commander, saved Europe. His letters to his wife, a French princess, are a literary masterpiece.
The last king of the Union was Stanislaw Poniatowski (1764-1795).

They started as Lithuanian princes, then Polish kings. Prince Adam&#39;s mother was Princess Dolores de Borbon y Orleans, which makes him a cousin of Juan Carlos of Spain.

Hope that helps... ;)

sunlesstanning

08-01-2003 05:54 PM

was she posing for a modeling shoot or what? it looks pretty bad. she&#39;s trying too hard

amyv

08-02-2003 02:35 AM

Maybe she went to the same modeling course as Mary D. and she is showing off all she learned&#33; :lol: :P

mktv2000

09-15-2004 06:17 PM

Prince Stanislaus Radziwill

I just found out today that Lee Radziwell was a Princess, I had never known that. I found that she was married to Prince Stanislaus Radziwill, who is he? He seems to be part of the Greek royal family? Any information is helpful!

mybags

09-21-2004 12:51 PM

Prince Stanislaus Radziwill was indeed married for a time to Lee Bouvier Canfield, sister of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Prince Stanislas or Stas as was his nickname was a member of Polish nobility.

Lee has recently finished her autobiography entitled Happy Times. It has filled with pictures about her life.

mybags

09-21-2004 01:05 PM

1 Attachment(s)

Princess Lee Radziwill and producer Alex Hitz (or Hutz?) at a party

Just a quick note: Lee married for a third time to movie director Herbert "Herb" Ross. She became Lee Radziwill Ross.

mybags

09-21-2004 01:18 PM

2 Attachment(s)

1. Lee with her third husband Herb Ross

2. Lee with designer Ralph Lauren

mgrant

09-21-2004 02:26 PM

How nice to hear about her! She used to be in the news quite a bit in the 1960s and 1970s (yes I'm showing my age!) and then she dropped off the radar screen. I'm glad to know she doing well. She looks great :)

mybags

09-21-2004 04:02 PM

6 Attachment(s)

1. Lee with Truman Capote

2. Lee and Prince "Stas" (pronounced Stash) at a mask party

3. Lee with her sister Jacqueline Kennedy in London

4. Lee and Herb Ross at the Holyfield-Moorer fight

5. Lee and Stas

6. Lee and Farley Granger when she played "Laura" adapted from the mystery novel

mybags

09-21-2004 04:10 PM

5 Attachment(s)

1. Lee with Giorgio Armani

2. Lee at the memorial service of John Kennedy Jr.

3. Lee and Herb Ross

4. Lee visiting Jackie Onassis's apartment after her death

5. Lee

mktv2000

09-21-2004 05:15 PM

Okay so she kept his last name, but they divorced (or did he pass away?) and she is no longer "Princess". Thank you for the great information

mybags

09-21-2004 05:43 PM

They divorced and then he passed away. She married a third time but after her third divorce she dropped the surname "Ross" and became again Lee Radziwill.

Alexandria

09-21-2004 07:06 PM

Lee is actually very pretty; I always thought so when I was working on an article about Jackie, whom I always felt overshadowed her. Looking at the pictures here and the endless pictures and articles about Jackie I always found Lee the prettier of the two sisters -- Jackie just seemed to have more charm, grace and poise than Lee.